'His Frozen Fingertips' – written by LEH Student Charlotte

26.06.2017

Congratulations to Charlotte who is now a published author

To celebrate the publishing of Charlotte's book on Monday, 26th June, LEH hosted a reading and book signing with Charlotte in the LRC. The reality of being a published author and reading to an audience for the first time was possibly a little overwhelming but Charlotte handled it with aplomb. Many teachers and students were able to have their booked signed by Charlotte personally. Her book is available to purchase directly through Amazon in both paper and e-book format by following this link.

The story behind the story

Charlotte wrote ‘His Frozen Fingertips’ in the summer between LV and UV when she was on a remote holiday in Cornwall. After initially being miserable because she couldn’t use the internet, she decided that she would write a really interesting book. Charlotte saw a distinct gap in the market for any fantasy or adventure novel with LGBT+ protagonists, so she thought that she could be the person to write it.

When she had left Cornwall, she had written fourteen thousand words but it took her a few more months to finish the one hundred thousand words that made up the first draft, and it was completed on 15th September 2015, two days before her sixteenth birthday. Charlotte spent roughly six or seven months rewriting and line editing the story before sending it off to publishers. However, due to her lack of research, she had failed to take into account the fact that she would need an agent to get into the major publishing houses, and got fourteen rejections – which was quite discouraging, especially the more barbed comments such as ‘you have a lot more growing up to do before you can write something worth reading’.

Nonetheless, she decided that she would send the book off for one last attempt, this time to an American publisher. In the US, agents are less vital to a book’s success, she would have a better chance at being published. However, Charlotte was rejected, again. She filed the manuscript away and decided that it would be better to focus on her GCSE’s. However, on the first day of the exam period, she received another email from the acquisitions editor who had rejected her initially. She said that she could not get Charlotte’s story out of her head and that she had arranged for her to have a Skype call with the head of the publishing house. Charlotte had the interview late one night, which was a very difficult and professional discussion. On the day of her Physics GCSE, she was offered a traditional contract with Koehler Books, which is a contract where every part of the publishing process is free and you are treated as a professional author.

What is the storyline of 'His Frozen Fingers'?

“When he is diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition at the age of seventeen, Asa is certain that his adventures have come to an end. He is alone, having been abandoned by parents who never wanted him and a village that couldn’t raise him. However, as the bells start to ring, those are the least of his problems. The evil sorcerer Erebus has the land of Eodem under his control. Thrust into a world of distrust and aggression, Asa can rely on just one person: his friend Averett. The wall that divides Eodem seems to be an unobtainable goal, and danger is always one step ahead.”